Accepting the art of sinking in bad poetry

This song "Love Parasite" is the fourth track off of Fad Gadget's 1982 album Under the Flag.

This song, "The New West", is the first track of Brooklyn based goth neofolk band Cult of Youth's self titled album. Their self titled album,SBR-047, was released on the Brooklyn based label Sacred Bones Records.

Cult of Youth began as a series of home recordings by the band's founder, Sean Ragon. Ragon’s solo Cult of Youth project made two releases on the then unknown Dais Records. The early recordings become a popular as a rallying cry against the tired cultural irony and lo-fi slacker mentality that was ever present in the hipster fueled independent music at the time. Ragon soon added more folks to the band: Micki Pellerano on bass, Glenn Maryanski on drums, and Christiana Key on the violin.

Ragon not only croons and writes great lyrics but he also runs a vintage record store, Heaven Street Records, and recently started Blind Prophet Records.

Remember when Snow Patrol wasn't effectivly a solo project? We do.

Today is Mark McClelland's 34th birthday! McClelland started Snow Patrol with Gary Lightbody back in 1994 when they were at Uni together at Dundee. McClelland was credited as co-composer for all the albums up until Lightbody lost his blob and ousted him after their appropriatly titled 2004 ablum, Final Straw. McClelland was also credited with playing bass, guitar and keyboard on many Snow Patrol albums.

Mark McClelland's influence can certainly be heard on Snow Patrol's earlier albums. It is obvious that Snow Patrol has lost the McClelland edginess and now just sounds like any other "alternative band" with cleanly overly seperated but distrorted guitars.

McClelland's new band Little Doses is quite good. Little Doses features McClelland's distorted edgy bass driven sound and the vocal stylings of his hot girlfriend Kirsten Ross.

If you are lurking about Edinborough in the begining of April, Little Doses will be at Haddow Fest.

This song "Friends of Mr. Cairo" was the first track on the second album that came out of the collaboration between Jon Anderson (fromerly of YES) and Vangelis. The album, also named The Friends of Mr. Cario, was released in 1981 on the Polydor label. The title song hit #1 for five weeks on the Canadian singles. The second edition of the album, which was released only fews weeks after the initial release includes the single "I'll Find My Way Home", and had different album cover.

I only own the vinyl of the second edition.

Today is Vangelis' 68th birthday. Happy Birthday Vangelis!  Vangelis, born Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou in Greece, is a very prolific composer best known for his Academy Award winning score for the film Chariots of Fire, and scores for the films Blade Runner and Conquest of Paradise.

Blade Runner, especially the score, and Gary Numan's Replicas changed my life (both based on or inspired by one of my favorite books, Phillip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?).

Vangelis was one of the early pioneers that made the Syntheziser into a real instrument that could be used in mainstream music and even to compose whole film scores.

This song, "Tarzan Boy" was the 1985 debut single for the Italian based new wave band Baltimora. The song was lifted from their first single Living in the Background. The band was very successful, but is internationally known for their one huge hit.

Baltimoria's lead singer, James McShane died today in 1995 from AIDS related illnesses.

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From Wikipedia:

McShane was born on May 23, 1957, in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

McShane learned from a young age to play bass and guitar, and showed great talent for dancing. He made his debut playing in small clubs in his hometown and was presented to various audiences, without great success. McShane came from a humble family and conservative, so had to deal with rejection from his family when he revealed his homosexuality. In view of his low artistic success, McShane decided to work as emergency medical technician for the Red Cross in Ireland until he met Bassi whom together created Baltimora.

In 1994 he decided to settle in Milan, where he was diagnosed with the AIDS virus, which McShane stayed only a few months. He returned to Ireland after, where he decided to spend the last years of his life.

This song Decay is off of Twice a Man's 1982 debut full length album, Music For Girls.